Why We Desperately Need Prophets Right Now

Anyone who knows me knows I have a strong conviction concerning the prophetic. I have always said that no matter where life takes me, I will always know there is a God because of what I have experienced, what I have seen and what I have encountered by the power of the prophetic word.

Additionally, God’s prophets have been a vital part of everything God has ever done on planet Earth. Amos 3:7 says, “Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing His purpose to His servants the prophets.” Prophets were at work in the book of Genesis. In fact, one of the very first humans, Abel, was a prophet (see Luke 11:50–51.) And prophets continued to do their work throughout every single book of the Scriptures.

All 66 books of the Bible testify to the activity of prophets, the presence of prophets, the ministry of prophets and the words of prophets. Prophets are a vital part of God’s plan. It has always been this way!

Yet people called to the office of a prophet are under assault today, either by bad doctrine, rebellion, character flaws, perversion or environments that don’t welcome them. They settle into ministries that ignore, overlook or—even worse—convince them that modern-day prophets do not exist.

For those who have been called to the prophetic ministry, I want to motivate you to come out of hiding and become one with your calling. We need you!

We are in need of prophets.

We are in need of men and women who know they’ve been called to be prophets, who have been educated in their prophetic career, who have submitted to the office of the prophetic and have conformed their entire lives to God’s prophetic objectives. We need people who don’t make up their own prophetic agenda but would rather fulfill the mission and mandate their biblical predecessors carried out in Scripture.

Yet for those who are called to the prophetic, that is a challenging thing to do. And that is because many churches don’t have educational academies or tangible responsibilities for prophets. This causes those who are prophets to end up becoming rebels or ruining structures, even when they are trying to help. The prophets need a space to learn, grow and operate in their calling!

Real prophets, authentic prophets, born prophets are needed in this time, not just for the sake of the church but for the sake of the world. God requires prophetic things to be said to acquaint people and nations with His agenda, His personality, His character, His logic, the way He thinks and what He wants to do with them. In order to do that, He needs mouthpieces—vessels—that literally speak on behalf of Him, the invisible God. That is what prophets do. They prophesy on behalf of God!

I know you may believe my opinion is biased because I am a prophet.

And it is. But along with that, I have had the privilege of years and years of seeing the benefits of prophetic ministry and the office of the prophet. I have seen how the prophetic has literally saved lives. I know of prophets who have foreseen dangerous events happening and who have been able to do something to prevent harm. I have seen the prophetic pull people out of abusive relationships. I have seen the prophetic give hope to people who thought they had no more to give.

This is why the prophetic is so necessary. It’s not so you can know a new car is coming or a house is in your future or a spouse is on the way. The prophetic is God’s way of letting you know there is hope, you do have a future and there is a way out! If that doesn’t energize and excite you, then I don’t know what will.

So where have all the prophets gone? {eoa}

Matthew L. Stevenson III is a powerful governmental prophet and an apostolic overseer. This article is adapted from his book The Prophetic Responsibility: Your Role in a World That Ignores God’s Voice. Stevenson is the senior pastor of All Nations Worship Assembly and holds three academic degrees in the areas of leadership, education and ministry. He oversees more than 60 ministries through The GATE Network, a family of churches and ministries around the world that look to him for supervision, oversight and apostolic leadership. He is the husband of Kamilah Stevenson and the father of three.